Will Bayern Munich Dominate the Bundesliga Next Season too?

Another successful season is in the cards for Bayern Munich, with the Bundesliga champions now winning five league titles in as many years. Although they were given a run for their money at times during the campaign by upstarts Red Bull Leipzig, Bayern Munich’s consistently strong performances helped them cruise to victory.

With RB Leipzig in second and Borussia Dortmund finishing third – three points behind Leipzig – Bayern Munich decimated the opposition, finishing clear of second by 15 points and having a superior goal difference by +40. So, are Bayern Munich already set for yet another year of complete dominance in Germany’s top division in 2017/18?

Bayern Munich’s Comings and Goings

At the end of the season, and during the team’s celebrations after another league win, Bayern Munich bid farewell to two of their star players. Both club legend Philipp Lahm and veteran Spaniard Xabi Alonso have now retired and were doused in beer by their teammates to get the celebrations started.

Regarding incomings, Bayern have secured the signing of loanee Kingsley Coman. The immensely talented French international has mustered eight goals and 13 assists in his 60 games for the Bavarian giants and is expected to be the future replacement of Franck Ribery on the wing.

Manager Carlo Ancelotti has also added the much-sought-after German centre-back Niklas Sule to his ranks, ensuring a bright future for his team’s centre-back situation. As well as these two young stars, Bayern added Sebastian Rudy on a free transfer to bolster their already well-stacked central midfield corps.

Bayern Munich will miss Lahm and Alonso, but they’re very well prepared to take on next season with the squad that they currently have, and will likely add more. The champions will head into the 2017/2018 campaign as favourites for a sixth title in the Bundesliga betting, ahead of rivals Dortmund and Leipzig.

Bayern Munich’s Competitors

Bayern’s closest competitors last season were Red Bull Leipzig, but by all accounts, the upstart club from eastern Germany aren’t set to lose too many players and are being more heavily linked to making signings of their own. Some key players have been linked with transfers away, but surprisingly few given the season Leipzig had.

The team will need a fair amount of improving before they can challenge Bayern Munich for the title, but if they can keep a hold of most of their star players, such as Timo Werner, Emil Forsberg, Naby Keita, and Bernardo, they should be able to mount a similar challenge next season.

Borussia Dortmund are on for a huge summer. Manager Thomas Tuchel has parted ways with the club despite bringing them the German Cup, and now many of Europe’s elite see this as their chance to finally snap up some of the team’s top stars, with the likes of Paris Saint-Germain reportedly closing in on top scorer Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

BVB’s latest wunderkind, French winger Ousmane Dembele, has also been linked with a move away, and the Signal Iduna Park residents don’t tend to be a team that can keep hold of their players when the elite teams come knocking.

Next season looks to be one of partial re-build for Borussia Dortmund, and RB Leipzig aren’t quite there yet, giving Bayern Munich an even greater chance of dominating the Bundesliga once more.